Judah Moscato, Abraham Portaleone, and Biblical Incense in Late Renaissance Mantua

Abstract

Italian Jews of the late Renaissance took ancient incense seriously. There were at least two divergent approaches toward biblical incense in sixteenth-century Jewish culture. Judah Moscato's analysis of biblical incense is exclusively homiletical. This chapter analyzes Abraham Portaleone's study of biblical incense and places it in the context of a broader Italian movement of the sixteenth century that included other Jews such as Amatus Lusitanus, David de' Pomi, and Moses Cases as well as contemporary Catholics such as Ulisse Aldrovandi. That movement was initiated by several developments in sixteenth-century Italian culture including curricular reforms in university medical faculties, the popularization of botanical gardens, and renewed debate about the precise meaning and proper translation of Scripture. Keywords:Abraham Portaleone; Amatus Lusitanus; Biblical Incense; Judah Moscato; Renaissance Mantua